With school back in session it feels like a good time to learn something new. Why not consider taking a class? IBM Analytics classroom training continues to deliver value to individuals and their organizations. The top 3 reasons to take a class (in my opinion!) are:

1. Achieve your project goals more quickly by supporting faster solution adoption and integrating new technologies into your current projects.
2. Stay on top of rapidly changing technologies; compete in the digital world by understanding how and where new tools and solutions fit best. Avoid the “flavor of the week” solution if modifying a technology you already own will deliver the same results.
3. Provide opportunities for internal mobility. Finding skilled technical resources has never been more difficult. Current staff members understand their organizations. Providing training keeps employees engaged, motivated, and moving up!

Our classes scheduled for September through December are attached. All are available in the classroom and remotely, via distance learning. If you can’t find what you are looking for, please contact me at kim.may@thefillmoregroup.com.

Frank Fillmore just finished delivering a webcast with IBM’s Steve Mink and Doug Anderson, hosted by Blanca Borden, on the just-released QMF Analytics for Multiplatforms solution. For the many QMF for z users, this new GUI-based solution offers the opportunity to extend the use of the objects, forms, queries, etc., an organization has developed over the years. The session was recorded and I will post the recording link as soon as it’s available to view.

For the September 13th Baltimore/Washington Db2 Users Group Frank will reprise his presentation and deliver a demo on QMF Analytics for Multiplatforms. The meeting is being sponsored by SEGUS and will include 4 presentations – 2 from SEGUS’s Ulf Heinrich and 1 from IBM’s John Iczkovits in addition to Frank’s. Summary session abstracts are below. Complete abstracts, speaker bio’s and registration information will be available later this week on the Baltimore/Washington DB2 Users Group website (www.bwdb2ug.org). I hope you will join us if you are in the area!

Audit and Compliance is one of the big challenges companies are facing these days. This presentation shows how the entire DB2 workload can be tracked without the overhead of a trace, or monitor, enabling to answer Who did What When ? whenever needed.

Session 2: Ulf Heinrich – Db2 12 Continuous Delivery

Starting with version 12 Db2 goes agile and code fixes, as well as new features and functions, will be delivered in a continuous stream, so called Continuous Delivery. While this change intends to make new technology available faster than in a three-year cycle it will also differ from how we did DB2 migration and testing before. This presentation provides an overview about Db2 Levels and how they affect the Db2 subsystem, the
Catalog/Directory, SQL and DDL. More importantly, you will see how changes can be applied safely and what levels of quality assurance and testing can be passed to assure Continuous Delivery goes well with Continuous Availability.

Session 3: John Iczkovits – DB2 for z/OS is in The Cloud! Using z/OSMF to Install, Migrate, and Provision DB2

These are exciting times and you may not realize it, but Db2 for z/OS is in the cloud! You may be thinking, what exactly does that mean? Many of your z/OS colleagues are already using z/OSMF for all sorts of functions. Come learn how to use z/OSMF to manage Db2 software, install, migrate, and provision data for Db2 and what the cloud means to us.

Session 4: Frank Fillmore – QMF Analytics for Multiplatforms

In July, QMF Analytics for Multiplatforms became generally available. Like QMF for z/OS, this solution delivers QMF’s visualization, dash boarding and graphical ad-hoc query capabilities, and enables users to leverage their existing QMF assets – queries, forms, procs from legacy QMF. In this session Frank Fillmore will provide an overview of the features of QMF Analytics for Multiplatforms and perform a demonstration that includes new updates to QMF’s data visualization interface.

I have been reviewing our first half of 2017 and trying to get a handle on where our DB2 world is headed in the second half of this confusing year. Frankly, I’m baffled! While the year started on a positive note with IBM’s acknowledgement that they needed to re-engage and support their existing DB2 customers, and the positive trend continued with the announcement of the super-aggressive DB2 pricing available via the Oracle Attack, I still find that at mid-year the good outcomes I expected are failing to materialize. How come?

In my opinion, one reason is a result of IBM’s “re-invention” of their Business Partner program. As a long-time IBM Business Partner, our team invests an incredible amount of time and energy maintaining our “Premier Partner” status, primarily through certifications that validate our skills. When IBM rolled out the new partner program in 2017 their messaging indicated a new focus on highly-skilled, knowledgeable partners. Unfortunately, in reality, the program modifications boiled down to two new criteria: 1) customer references and 2) meeting high volume IBM software sales targets. To IBM, these make perfect sense: IBM struggles to get customer references, and with rolling sales staff reductions, IBM needs to beef up their sales partners.

However, the “Give it to Mikey, he’ll eat anything” approach may not be working. Partners like The Fillmore Group are being marginalized (“Skills? Who needs ’em?”) by the program, while high volume partners (like HP, oh, oops, not any more) are being funneled territories, “uncovered” customers and leads.

In my opinion, the fallout is likely to be similar to the Global Skills Initiative, IBM’s education program “re-invention” from a few years ago that resulted in far fewer DB2 classes and fewer available training options as the program created a layer of 5 large, competing training partners who function independently and whose lack of coordination splintered the IBM training business.

Is this what IBM is – unintentionally/intentionally? – planning for their partner community? I don’t know, but it’s unsettling. One bright note: the new partner levels were scheduled to go into effect June 30th, but have been pushed back to the end of July. Perhaps sanity prevails??

My final head scratcher is the annual IOD/Insight/World of Watson/no, not this year conference. I received an email this morning about the LearnQuest-sponsored Analytics conference scheduled for New Orleans in October. I’ve also heard about a DB2 Conference being planned for Boston in – October, as well. On one hand I think any conference and opportunity to network is good. On the other hand, I am wondering if the conflict is quietly announcing the final split between DB2 for z/OS and DB2 for LUW.

Or I suppose that should be (another brilliant re-invention), Db2 for z/OS and Db2 for LUW…!!

Thanks to my colleague, Kim May, for another wonderful job leading customers and IBMers through the rewards and challenges of converting Oracle databases to DB2. The recording of the latest webinar is found here. The presentation materials: Oracle Customers Consider DB2 5.16.17

I’ve been pondering what this announcement means all day…is IBM trying to become the most altruistic database software vendor? They areoffering amazing software license discounts to customers moving workloads from Oracle to DB2 for LUW, and today announced a new extended support option for customers unable to meet the September 30th End of Support (EOS) date for both DB2 V9.7 and V10.1. Typically IBM pushes customers to migrate before the EOS date as it helps to keep the majority of customers being supported on a limited number of software versions. As everyone supporting software knows, simpler is better.

On the flipside though, I’ve been wondering if this announcement is a veiled advertisement for a new, for-fee offering from IBM to generate services income? Yes, I can be as suspicious as anyone!

If you find yourself in need of extended support and discover IBM is asking for a substantial fee and would like a second price option on support, please shoot me an email. We’ve offered DB2 customers similar support in the past, and we’ve also completed several migrations from V9.7 and V10.1 to V11.1 and can help you get to V11.1 before September 30th if that’s the best option of all.

Information on the IBM announcement and contact for obtaining a quote for the extended support is HERE. My contact info is HERE. Your call!

With IBM’s announcement this week of super-aggressive discounting being offered to current Oracle customers considering a move to DB2, and with the deadline looming for many Oracle customers faced with another year of bloated “investment” in Oracle support, we’ve decided to deliver updated material on the benefits of moving to DB2.

Our upcoming webinar, “Oracle Renewal Looming? Consider DB2!” will be delivered on Tuesday, May 16th, from 11:30am to 12:30pm EDT.

DB2 Gold Consultant Frank Fillmore will join me for the session, as will IBM’s Tony Mancini, Worldwide Competitive Team Executive. Tony will give us a brief overview of IBM’s recent announcement, and Frank and I will deliver a fast-paced, interactive 60-minute session that will (we hope!) provide current Oracle customers with an understanding of both the cost savings and incredible database functionality available with DB2.

Thanks to Kim May for a fabulous job stepping customers and IBMers through the rewards and challenges of converting Oracle databases to DB2. The recording of the webinar is found here. The presentation materials: Oracle Customers Consider DB2 4.5.17

The Fillmore Group is inviting organizations frustrated with rising Oracle costs to join us for a webinar focusing on the two primary motivations behind DB2 migrations: cost and functionality. Session attendees will perform a self-analysis to compare similar version license costs, and gain an understanding of the technical features included in DB2 for on-premise use – BLU, pureScale, and the Data Partitioning Feature – as well as a brief overview of cloud deployment and SaaS options.

Date: Thursday, April 6th

Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm EDT

The session also includes an overview of the migration process, as anyone considering a move needs to understand the time and effort involved.

Sound boring? It won’t be! The session will be delivered by IBM Champions Frank Fillmore and Kim May. Frank has participated in IBM’s annual “Break Free Forum” and Kim has worked with several Oracle customers exploring migrations to DB2. We understand this is a complicated comparison but will do our best to make the session entertaining without including too much Oracle bashing. But maybe a bit.

On Tuesday, January 13, 1987 I sat in the kitchen of my 11 foot wide rowhouse in the Highlandtown section of Baltimore and typed out on a manual typewriter the Articles of Incorporation for The Fillmore Group. My son, Nathaniel, was five weeks old.

Some back-of-the-envelope metrics across the past 30 years:

approximately 300 clients

about 60 consultants have helped train these customers and implement their IBM Analytics software

As a consultant, instructor, and/or presenter at technical conferences I have traveled to approximately 20 countries. Prague is my favorite foreign city; I’ve been there three times and look forward to returning.

I have had two consultants, Ray and Jim, tell me that working for The Fillmore Group “has changed [their] life”. In the beginning it was a common occurrence that an employment verification form from a mortgage underwriter would arrive shortly after a consultant started with TFG. I know of several consultants that purchased their first home while working with us.

My favorite work environment was The World Bank. The cosmopolitan atmosphere – working with colleagues from all over the planet – was delightful. I helped implement a telephone billing system there using SQL/DS.

My most satisfying project was the Oracle to DB2 migration at JP Morgan Chase. It was a tough, demanding environment with a timeline that was half of the 18 months originally estimated. But we got it done with the help of Jim, Joe G., Joe L., John, Rebecca, and Teresa. The customer had an equally talented, hard-working team. Our contribution to that project was recognized by IBM SVP Steve Mills at the Insight conference that year.

As a small business owner, my favorite question from an IBMer (Scott): “Since the deadline can’t change, if money were no object what would you do?” The answer: supply five more consultants to the project. It was completed on time – if not under budget.

As a technician, my favorite question from an IBMer (Hunter) in the parking lot after a detailed technical presentation to a customer involving replication and federation tools: “We can do that, right?” The answer: yes we can. It resulted in a massive data warehouse at a large federal government healthcare agency.

I have had the privilege to learn from and share friendships with some of IBM’s original developers of relational database technology including Pat, Curt, Don and Don, and Hamid. For IBM’s Hybrid Transaction/Analytic Platform (HTAP) implementations of today I rely on Paul, Tim, Gary, Namik, Knut, Patric, and Udo among many, many others.

I also cherish the friendships I have formed with other DB2 Gold Consultants like David, Ted, Bonnie, Jan, Juergen, Julian, Jackie, Kermit, Sheryl, Susan – and especially Gerry.

IBM has been a maddening company with which to partner, but the vast majority of the time The Fillmore Group has benefited from the technical excellence and basic decency of IBM employees. In return, TFG consultants like Roger and Ravi have delivered innovative, cost-effective IT solutions to our mutual customers. After more than two decades I still rely on Roger for his calm, wise counsel.

There have been tough times, too. The Fillmore Group overcame at least three financial near-death experiences (1993, 2002, 2006). At the risk of tempting fate: we never missed a payroll or failed to pay a debt on time.

But the best time, by far, was the day Kim May arrived to rent The Fillmore Group’s technical training classroom in downtown Baltimore in 2003. That was the day my life changed forever.

This is reverie, not valedictory. I am still too young to retire. And I am as jazzed about the possibilities of HTAP, data repositories, and data interoperability (aka “plumbing”) in 2017 as I was when I first started working with SQL/DS (maximum storage capacity: 64GB) in the mid 1980s. We’re currently working on a database rehosting project for a local government targeting DB2 for z/Linux and have an IBM DB2 Analytics Accelerator (IDAA) v6 Workshop scheduled next month.

But I wanted to take a moment to jot down a few thoughts on the past three decades. Of course, I haven’t called out everyone by name who has contributed to our success over the years. But I truly, sincerely appreciate your hard work, dedication, integrity, smarts, and moxie. Thank you!

In closing, when Curt retired from IBM I asked if he was pleased with a career that had reached a pinnacle as an IBM Fellow. His response: “It turned out better than I ever could have imagined.” Me too.

Although the Global Skills Initiative hasn’t delivered on its promise IBM continues to schedule and deliver classes with the Global Training Partners. It’s just more difficult for customers to find classes and register…and then wait for the all-too-frequent “sorry, cancelled” call.

But, as we have been delivering IBM Authorized DB2 and data management tools classes for this long, we’re hanging in. Why not? Our classroom sits waiting for students and our consultants who train always look forward to delivering classes.

Our scheduled classes are in the document attached below. These are the classes we are scheduled to deliver. Please remember we have access to other courses and curriculum, and can deliver many more courses (along with our regularly scheduled classes) in private sessions at your location, and/or via distance learning.

Please call (443-956-0288) or email me (kim.may@thefillmoregroup.com) if I can help!